A Meerkat's Bolthole

This is the first of the Kickstarted novellas, following after DRAGON JUSTICE, spinning off half-faun PI Danny Hendrickson into his own series.

We sent the file off to backers last week, and I've...well, been a little on edge, ever since.  I got one "I loved it!" from someone I saw at Lunacon (bless her, I may have made her repeat it *g*), and the rest has been...silence.

Probably, that's because they haven't had a chance to read it yet.  Or they're not the sort to gush.  Or...they hated it.  Ack.

*does NOT hide under the bed, damn it*

 EtA: I'm not asking for reassurances.  Okay, maybe I am.  But it's okay.  ;-)

I'm really hoping they like it.  I'm really hoping they're looking forward to the next installment (PROMISES TO KEEP, currently in production).  I'm really hoping they like them both enough that I get to write the 3rd novella, which in my head is called SOME MISTAKE...

Whatever happens, though, this was - and is - one of the more enjoyable Publishing Aventures I've had, working with my very own publishing team of stalwart freelancers and lunatics.  The fact that none of them throttled me may be a small miracle.  :-)

(and yes, the novellas will be available to the open market this winter, so if you missed the Kickstarter, you'll get a second chance)

It began soon after the Millennium. Reports of newborns with strange malformations, too weak to live…caused by a single genetic mutation. Or, as the press quickly dubbed it, the Dragon Virus. Scientists predicted that it was an evolutionary dead end; that the mutation would burn itself out quickly; that it was nothing to be worried about.

They were wrong.

Every racial type. Almost every continent. No known cause. Human-created, maybe. Or just God, throwing the dice. Infecting us, warping us. Tied into our genetic code, from here on in. No known treatment. No idea where even to begin.

Everything was about to change.

Six connected stories, charting the end – beginning – of everything we know, everything we fear, everything we hope for….

With an Introduction by Walter Jon Williams

Praise for Dragon Virus

“Stunningly successful…A potent ride through a changing future, exploring themes and ideas that resonate as much in the modern day as in her darkly evolving future.”   —SF Signal

“A gripping adventure from start to finish, Dragon Virus is highly recommended.”   —Midwest Book Review